ORCA 61

Niah was pacing nervously in front of in Orca’s room. After a late lunch, he had hurried up and was waiting for Orca. He had come looking for him without a plan, with no certainty of when the hunting competition would end or if Orca would come straight to his room afterward, and was fidgeting restlessly.

He paced back and forth in the hallway, circled the same spot, and sat down and stood up, all in a tizzy by himself. He moved more busily than Orca had when he was restlessly waiting for Niah last time. Niah, with his lips firmly shut, let the corners of his eyes droop.

The dining hall was more boisterous than usual as the servants were mixed in with those from other families from different territories. The lavish dinner menu, thanks to the party, also contributed to the cheerful atmosphere. Loud chatter crisscrossed over the tables.

“But I’m still a bit scared of the killer whale family. No matter how much money they pay.”

“I don’t know much about the situation elsewhere, but the Ware family pays even the lowest-ranking kids 4.5 pounds?”

“What? Really? I get 5 pounds. Then maybe I should think about it.”

“You said you were scared?”

“Well, money is scarier, I guess.”

Niah, who had given up his usual seat to someone else and sat in a corner, just quietly chewed his food. He diligently emptied the plate that Luan had piled high for him, paying no particular attention to the conversations around him. The only thoughts in his head were that the sweet and sour salad made with seaweed was delicious, and curiosity about where the young master and Phrrngie might be right now.

“Still, aren’t killer whales a bit much? I’d rather work in a peaceful place and get 4 pounds.”

“True. From what I heard yesterday, the young master of this house has some pretty gruesome rumors about him.”

“Rumors? What kind?”

At the words ‘young master,’ Niah’s ears perked up. Harriet, who was next to him, turned pale. Should I cover his ears so he can’t hear? While she was contemplating, the dining hall grew noisy with the absurd rumor that Orca was a cannibal. The atmosphere was half-believing and half-disbelieving, but Niah’s face, upon hearing it, also turned pale in an instant.

I’m screwed.

Harriet, who squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them, quickly racked her brain. However, it would be strange for her to step up and defend or explain on behalf of the young master, and it would be too strange to comfort him by saying it would be okay. There was nothing else she could do but hope that Orca would handle it well himself.

Instead, she repeatedly cheered him on in her heart. It was a bit ridiculous for her, a servant, to pity a nobleman, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young master since it would take a great deal of effort to soothe the timid Niah.

“Come on… but even if he is a cannibal, well, wouldn’t all the ones who went into his stomach be soldiers from the enemy country?”

“Right! Young master Orca is someone who has achieved great merit in war. Isn’t that right? I heard the enemy bastards tremble just at the mention of his name. I wish he would eat them all up!”

“Of course! If they’re enemy bastards, they deserve to be eaten!”

Thanks to the servants from other families who didn’t know the mansion’s situation well, the dining hall’s atmosphere, which had briefly become heavy, lightened up again. Harriet, feeling somewhat relieved, let out a small sigh. Then she turned her gaze back to Niah. Niah still had a hardened expression, then swallowed the salad in his mouth without even finishing chewing. At his pale appearance, Harriet once again thought she was screwed. Unaware of her shriveled heart, the boisterous chatter continued cheerfully.

“Thanks to that, we get to see a party like this, so it’s good for us. We get to travel at the same time, too. When else would we get to roam freely outside the estate if not for times like this?”

“That’s right. Everyone’s probably been to many noble parties following their masters, but a place as splendid as this is rare. The food is delicious, and they give the servants plenty of alcohol. I heard they’re even putting on a play in the hall tomorrow?”

“Isn’t tomorrow the ball?”

“What does it matter if it’s tomorrow or the day after? We just have to enjoy ourselves and go. The young master’s birthday is a good thing! It’s just tough for the Ware family servants. Why don’t you come to our mansion next time? Our chef is an amazing cook too.”

Niah’s ears, which had been blankly sitting and mulling over people’s words, perked up once again. Birthday? Niah put down his fork and moved closer to Harriet. When he cupped his hands into a round ball shape, Harriet naturally tilted her head. Niah whispered in a slightly flustered voice.

“Harriet. Is it the young master’s birthday…?”

“Huh? You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know… When is it…?”

“Four days from now, but… It’s okay, it’s okay. The young master will be happy even if you just congratulate him.”

To his pale face, a sense of gloom was finally added. Harriet hurriedly patted Niah’s back. At the same time, a headache washed over her as she thought, he doesn’t even know it’s his birthday, so he definitely wouldn’t know about the engagement talks. It was to the point where she wanted to chase down the young master and demand to know how he planned to resolve this situation. Surely he wouldn’t just complicate the situation and then leave, she suspected, her eyes flashing.

Niah, who was dejected for a moment, seemed to be thinking deeply about something, then suddenly started to chew and eat his remaining food with determination. All the food that had been piled high went into Niah’s stomach.

“Harriet. I’m going to go first!”

“Oh-oh? Now? Uh, okay.”

Flustered by the suddenly energetic Niah, Harriet waved her hand awkwardly. Niah was the fastest among the servants gathered in the dining hall to finish his lunch and left the west wing. Choosing a hallway where he was unlikely to run into nobles, he stopped by the basement and washed his body thoroughly. The time it took to dry himself and hurry to the 4th floor was almost instantaneous. His movements were as light and swift as a squirrel climbing a tree. After that, he had been waiting for his young master, pacing anxiously.

Orca’s eyes met Niah’s, who was standing far away, as soon as he entered the 4th-floor hallway. For a moment, his expression, which had frozen stiffly wondering if he was seeing another illusion, soon crumbled. His already wide strides became even wider. He hadn’t expected him to be in front of his room, so the corners of his mouth twitched up without him realizing. The messily tangled feelings in his heart became neat and clean. Niah trotted toward him.

“Niah. Don’t run.”

Orca stopped the goldfish running towards him. It was because it was a waste for him to expend his energy unnecessarily. He wished that if Niah had energy to spare on the hallway, he would save it and use it on him instead. It was to the point where he wanted to tie his fins tightly so he couldn’t run around.

Regardless of whether he was having bizarre thoughts to himself or not, Niah, who had rolled over to him like a ball and flung himself into his arms, clung to his waist. The words that came out of his parted, gaping lips were urgent.

“Young master! Young master, I! I have something to ask, something to ask you!”

“What’s so urgent. Breathe properly.”

“I’m not out of breath!”

Orca, lifting up Niah who was for some reason extremely excited, buried his face in the line of his neck. A strong scent of soap was mixed in with the garden flowerbed-like body scent that wafted from him. A good scent also came from his hair, which had dried completely while he waited.

“Did you wash up?”

“Yes!”

The goldfish had an ambiguous expression that seemed both excited and surprised. In any case, it was certain that he was excited for some unknown reason. More than that, he became curious about why he had taken a bath at this hour. He wondered if Niah had come to tattle after hearing some nonsense about him smelling fishy. He knew it wasn’t in his nature to report someone’s wrongdoing, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.

Orca thought it would be nice if Niah had come to ask for his help with anything, and headed for the room for now. He thought it would be good to use that as an indulgence and bury them all in the back mountain.

However, his expectations or wishes missed the mark in the almost complete opposite direction. Orca put Niah, who had abruptly shoved his fingers into his mouth, down on the carpet and then grabbed both of his wrists separately. He only used his thumb and index finger, and even then, he held him as gently as possible.

“Young masteer…”

Niah, who had been flapping his arms furiously to get them out, eventually had to give up. There was no way he could escape on his own. Orca, who looked down at his disgruntled goldfish for a moment, took a few steps back just like that and plopped down on the bed. Niah, who was sulking because things didn’t go according to his plan, settled between his legs and whined to his heart’s content.

“I told you I washed up cleanly… So hurry up…”

“You’re telling me to eat you now because you washed up cleanly?”

“Yes!”

“What do you mean, ‘yes’. Niah. I told you I’m not eating you. Haah… It’s weirder to explain that I’m not eating you. You, who’s rushing at me to eat you, no, you’re not strange, but I’m not sure why you’re doing this. Were my words that shocking? Is that why you’re like this? Then you should rather be angry, why do you keep telling me to eat you… Huh?”

“Pardon? What? I’m not angry… I like you, young master…? You’re hungry, young master. That’s why I came…”

“What?”

Only then could Orca get a proper explanation from Niah. While listening to him lay it all out—from the story that he was worried Orca might have been hungry all this time because of the cannibal rumor he heard in the dining hall, to the story that he would be full if he ate him since he had eaten a lot, to the story that he was clean because he had washed up squeaky clean, to the story that he should eat quickly because it’s hard to be hungry, to the story that he should be careful not to get a stomachache—Orca’s expression gradually softened and eventually became mushy.

Niah, who had spoken clearly in a calm voice, closed his mouth and smiled sweetly. Orca, pulling his goldfish closer, let go of his wrists and instead wrapped his arms around his back. He leaned his forehead against the belly that was still flat even though he said he ate a lot and nuzzled it.

“Niah. You’re really strange.”

“I like you, young master.”

“You’re really strange. Niah.”

I like you a lot, he thought, and at the trivial grip strength and warm body temperature of Niah embracing his neck, he let out a somewhat hollow laugh. He felt like an idiot for mistakenly thinking a few days ago that Niah was avoiding him because of that rumor. Moreover, he couldn’t understand that Niah liked him enough to be okay with being eaten. He wanted to open his head and check to see how he could be so blind.

The more he tried to peer into the goldfish’s thoughts, the more he couldn’t fathom them. Even after hearing the rumor that he was a cannibal, he wasn’t scared; on the contrary, he was simple enough to ask if he had been hungry all this time, yet he was always difficult in important areas. It was as if he had trapped him in a labyrinth and was flitting around, running away on his own. And then, he would come and throw himself into his arms on his own accord. Even now, he had lightly rolled into his grasp and was flapping around.

Orca sat Niah on the bed and then stood up abruptly. His steps, as he took off the coat of his riding suit and headed for the bathroom, were hasty. It was a gait that seemed to be helplessly taking steps down a steep slope.

“Wait a moment. I’ll go wash up.”

“Pardon? Why, why? Taking a bath makes you hungrier…”

He, who was unbuttoning his shirt, turned to look at Niah.

“You said you washed up cleanly for me to eat you. Then I should show some courtesy too.”

“…Oh… Yeees…”

Niah nodded at his face, which looked cheerful for some reason. He just guessed something along the lines of, is it similar to washing your hands before eating? He was glad he came right away without waiting until night. Judging from how he seemed a little happy and how he had said he wanted to eat him bones and all, it seemed he was indeed hungry.

When he heard that the young master was a cannibal, the first thing that came to mind was the lake. He remembered the hungry dawn when he would sneak out of the mansion and gobble up water plants. On days when his shrunken stomach hurt from hunger, his whole face would become damp even when he wasn’t sad.

To him, hunger was no different from fear. The fear that he had to endure this, the fear that no one would help him, the fear that morning would never pass him by, the fear that all of this would keep repeating—these fears flowed one after another into his empty stomach and boiled down to a black char. They left a dark stain like soot that wouldn’t wash away no matter how much he scrubbed.

What if the young master was also trembling in fear every night, he worried, and nothing else mattered. That was the only thought on his mind from the time he left the dining hall until he came to the room. So, if he could help the young master, he was willing to do anything. He liked the young master enough that it would be okay even if it meant giving up all of his flesh and bones.

Niah, who was sitting quietly and tapping his ankles, took off his shoes and arranged them neatly. He got onto the bed, took off his socks too, and after some thought, sluggishly took off his pants. He folded them neatly and placed them on the nightstand, then stretched out his legs and looked down at them. He became sullen because they looked skinny anew. They didn’t look very tasty. He felt like a fish with a ton of bones and no flesh.

“Ah, I’m a goldfish…”

Niah, who let out a little heh-heh laugh to himself, was about to pull down his underwear but stopped and slowly undid the buttons on his shirt. He had intended to take it off in advance, but perhaps because the sunlight was bright, he felt a little embarrassed. His bare skin was too visible, and the act of taking off his clothes felt somehow erotic. The hand undoing the second button was slow.

Orca burst open the door before Niah could finish preparing to be eaten. He approached, wearing only a single robe and dripping water, and sat down next to Niah. His flushed cheeks fit perfectly into the palm of his hand. Niah, who brought a towel from the other hand, sat up on his knees and moved closer. As he rubbed